Solis Aeterna

Adeptus Astra Telepathica Mystic Psyker

Description:

Bio:

Psykers are a vital part of the Imperium, linking its worlds
together, aiding its soldiers in battle, and guiding its ships
across the stars. They are also dangerous, for the very gift
that allows them to draw power from the Warp, that otherworldly
realm that exists beneath reality, can also make them conduits for
its unholy power and gateways for Daemons. An untrained psyker
can bring doom upon an entire world if his abilities are not kept in
check. The Imperium has a rigid structure in place to watch for any
who display even a hint of psychic talent and remove them from
society, usually through force. Once in custody, they are trained
to serve the Emperor or, if they prove too unstable, destroyed for
the good of Mankind. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica oversees
psykers within the Imperium, scouring the galaxy for new psykers
and then examining and training their catches. Those that are not
worthy to live must instead serve the Emperor directly, their life
energies sustaining His continued existence for one more day.

Psykers are in reality mutants, a divergence of the human
evolutionary process into something different and often terrifying.
They have lived their whole lives with this taint, while the Imperium
exploits and uses their unique abilities. As conduits to the Warp,
they have also lived in constant fear of possession, or of death at
the hands of the terrible denizens of that unholy place. Their earlier
lives may have been filled with unexplained accidents or mental
breakdowns, and at some point, discovery and capture. Many do
not live long enough to be discovered, destroying themselves in
bursts of uncontrolled power. Untold others are never detected
and culled, a constant worry within the Adeptus Astra Telepathica
and the Inquisition. On Terra there is the painful process of
sanctioning, where they are tested, branded, and broken to serve
the will of the Emperor. Most are unfit for continued existence, and
their service ends as their energies are used to fuel the Emperor’s
life force and the eternal light of the Astronomican. Those
remaining are admitted to the ranks of Adeptus Astra Telepathica,
deemed safe and strong enough to serve the Imperium. It can be
a harsh and thankless life that breeds bitterness, the psykers’ minds
in constant stress and surrounded with fear and hatred. Each day
can push them further from humanity and closer to the whispering
promises of the Ruinous Powers.
As part of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, psykers have
numerous areas where, though they might not be welcomed, their
gifts are appreciated. Astropaths provide vital services, psychically
connecting worlds and voidships and allowing the Imperium
to exist. They are often more than just transmitters, and act as
accomplished diviners and telepaths as well. Sanctioned psykers
are also employed in Imperial Guard regiments or other Imperial
forces. Such lives are often short and unforgiving, ending burnt out
fighting mental battles no other human can imagine, or executed
for displaying any hint of possession or madness. This is the other
fate that waits for most psykers, regardless of their role in the
Imperium: a slow decay of the mind until the powers of the Warp
consume them, and they are turned against those they once fought
so hard to protect.
Some psykers are born amidst clouds of eldritch energies, their
inhuman pedigree apparent to all. Others might not manifest their
powers until many years later when impossible stress triggers their
mutation. Every world in the Imperium must scour its peoples for
any sign of psychic activity as part of their tithes—with the Adeptus
Arbites stationed there keeping careful watch for compliance—but
what each world considers a sign greatly varies. Some might test
for corpus buoyancy or resistance to flame, or list tales of odd
occurrences in their vicinity, or any one of endless indications the
world holds as certainty for psychic taint. That many die from
these tests is of little concern, for a world might burn if they are
lax in searching.
Learning of their own psychic abilities is enough to drive
many mad, and without mental defences others quickly fall prey
to the Ruinous Powers. Those who survive their sanctioning on
Terra might gain protection and stability through a variety of
means. Their training serves to strengthen their will, and many
are also fitted with limiters or undergo psycho-surgery to help
them control their abilities, lest a stray glance ignite a room or
odd smell invoke a telekinetic storm. It does not make for an easy
life, however, and no matter how or when it came about, a newlyemerged
psyker has a lifetime of constant scrutiny and horrific
threats ahead of him.

Role

The psyker gift is indiscriminate, and a man or woman is often
just as likely to develop psychic powers no matter where in the
Imperium they reside. Some view it as a mutation, and thus posit
that areas with higher mutation rates also lead to greater numbers
of those touched by the Warp. In reality it strikes more according
to fate or the unfathomable whims of powers beyond the ken of
Mankind. Mystics are treated differently depending on the nature
of the society into which they are born, reviled as abominations
and hunted to the edges of civilisation or given a place of position
and influence as those honoured with the gift of sight. They always
stand apart, for even if their society tolerates them, there are few
places in the Imperium where they can find welcome. Mystic
characters are also likely to fall into one of two groups, those
sanctioned on Terra and trained to use their gifts, and those which
have somehow remained unsanctioned and unknown, living in
secret as best they are able.
Sanctioned psykers that survive training can come from a variety
of areas, serving in the Imperial Guard alongside its regiments,
spread across the galaxy as Astropaths, or even acting as advisors to
ruling councils and governments. Even in such positions, there are
always others standing ready to act should their powers overwhelm
them. A bolt round to the head has ended many a Mystic’s career.
Unsanctioned psykers live a much more dangerous existence,
to both themselves and those around them. They often learn their
skills from the handed-down teachings of shamans and witches
or from half-understood tomes, and live with the constant fear
of discovery and death. On a frontier or feral world, a psyker can
live for years in such a state, hidden away from society, protecting
themselves by formulating a terrible reputation as a dark witch
or wizard. Only the strongest of these live long into adulthood,
their will powerful enough to ward off daemonic possession and
maintain their sanity. An Inquisitor may recruit such an individual
to his service for all manner of reasons, using his absolute authority
to shield his unsanctioned servant from the rest of the Imperium.